“I think it’s a great day for civil rights,” Fulop said. “We couldn’t be more excited.”

The nation’s high court ruled 5-4 that states cannot ban gay marriage, in a decision released this morning. Justice Anthony Kennedy, writing for the majority, said the reasons marriage is “fundamental” under the U.S. Constitution “apply with equal force to same-sex couples.”

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Elizabeth Schedl, of Hudson Pride Connections Center, emailed a statement that included five exclamation points. The LGBT group is based in Jersey City.

“Today marks one of the greatest days in history for our community,” said Elizabeth Schedl, of Hudson Pride Connections Center in Jersey City. “We are thrilled that the Supreme Court values the importance of marriage equality and understands how everyone deserves these rights.”

States cannot keep same-sex couples from marrying and must recognize their unions, the Supreme Court says in a ruling that for months has been the focus of speculation. The decision was 5-4.

Justice Anthony Kennedy, seen as a pivotal swing vote in the case, wrote the majority opinion. All four justices who voted against the ruling wrote their own dissenting opinions: Chief Justice John Roberts and Justices Antonin Scalia, Clarence Thomas and Samuel Alito.

“They ask for equal dignity in the eyes of the law,” Kennedy wrote of same-sex couples in the case. “The Constitution grants them that right.”